Stephanie Perkins is known for delightful YA contemporary romance like Anna and the French Kiss. There’s Someone Inside Your House is nothing like that.

About ‘There’s Someone Inside Your House’

It’s been almost a year since Makani Young came to live with her grandmother in landlocked Nebraska, and she’s still adjusting to her new life. And still haunted by her past in Hawaii.

Then, one by one, the students of her small town high school begin to die in a series of gruesome murders, each with increasing and grotesque flair. As the terror grows closer and the hunt intensifies for the killer, Makani will be forced to confront her own dark secrets.

Stephanie Perkins, bestselling author of Anna and the French Kiss, returns with a fresh take on the classic teen slasher story that’s fun, quick-witted, and completely impossible to put down.

‘There’s Someone Inside Your House’ book review

If you’ve ever heard of Stephanie Perkins, it’s likely you’ve read Anna and the French Kiss, Lola and the Boy Next Door, and Isla and the Happily Ever After. And if you’ve ever read any of those books, it’s likely you’ve fallen in love with each of those three beautiful stories.

There’s Someone Inside Your House is not beautiful. It’s terrifying and gut-wrenching and bloody. So, so bloody.

But that’s what makes it so hard to put down. If you were unsure if Perkins was capable of writing horror, you have nothing to fear (except for the mysterious killer found on the pages of this book). The deaths are worthy of the goriest slasher movies and the whodunit mystery will keep you guessing until the unexpected reveal.

What’s fascinating about this book is that the identity of the killer takes a backseat to their motivation. We see what the murderer is doing, first from the victim’s point of view and then from the killer’s, but it isn’t until the end that we understand why. The escalation in the carving up of the bodies is difficult to read and yet impossible to turn away from. It begs us to stick around to understand the reason these murders are taking place and we are too weak to resist the allure of that answer.

There’s Someone Inside Your House reads very much like MTV’s Scream television series. You have the popular girl, the football player, the weird loner, the mysterious hot guy, and the LGBTQ best friend. Don’t get me wrong — this book is diverse in all the best ways. It does fall into the trappings of your stereotypical slasher story, but just because it has some familiar beats, that doesn’t mean the music is exactly the same.

The characters are unique. Makani, our biracial lead, is new in town and harboring a dark secret. Darby is a transgender teen whose story is addressed but not highlighted in a way that makes it feel like anything other than a slice of real life. Ollie’s pink hair and lip piercing seem like rebellion but are actually there as armor to protect his quiet shyness.

What truly makes this book so terrifying is its plausibility. It takes places in rural America — Nebraska, to be exact — amid corn fields and empty highways. The murderer enjoys toying with their victim by stealing random objects or moving important items from one end of the room to another. In a town where you know everyone, suddenly you can trust no one.

This isn’t about elaborate slayings drawn out over weeks or months; it’s murder, cold and calculating, which takes place over the course of days.

It could happen to you. It could happen to me.

If you’re looking for Perkins’ trademark romance, you will find it here, but beware that there’s a lot more to digest. I suggest reading this during the day and when you know someone else is at home. Lock your doors and windows, and if you’ve suddenly misplaced your keys or your phone, just leave. And don’t look back.

The new Wizarding World logo is being billed as a way to reflect what’s going on in the franchise over the next few years, but it also reveals that J.K. Rowling is finally allowing others to dive into her creation.

Introducing the Hypable app

Hypable needs your support in one of two ways: By keeping your ad block off, or by supporting us on Patreon.
We can no longer afford to offer access to our content to people who prevent publishers from
generating revenue.

If you turn your ad block off, we will not run any full page ads more than once per week.

If you’d prefer to support us on Patreon, your money will go further than allowing us to run
ads!
Click here to sign up and receive a
host
of benefits, including ad-free Hypable.